Due to the advent of cable television, direct satellite systems, and other television program broadcast systems, television viewers have very large numbers of programs from which to select. Sophisticated systems have been developed to assist a viewer in selecting programs to view or record, among which are the Electronic Program Guide (EPG).
An EPG is displayed on a television display screen as an interface. In essence, an EPG is an interactive, on screen equivalent to TV listings found in local newspapers or other print media. An EPG interface can provide several different kinds of information about each program that is within the time frame covered by the EPG. The time frame typically ranges from the next hour up to seven days in advance. EPG program information is usually displayed in a two dimensional grid comprising a plurality of program cells wherein each cell corresponds to a particular program. Typically, the EPG program schedule grid has time on one axis and channel number on the other axis.
Unlike non-interactive guides that reside on a dedicated channel and merely scroll through the current programming on other channels, viewers can access an EPG interface at any time by entering a proper command on a remote control, keyboard, mouse, or other data entry device. Once a viewer enters the proper command, the content being displayed on the television screen (i.e. the currently tuned channel) is replaced with the EPG interface. Once the EPG interface is displayed, a viewer can interact with the EPG interface by controlling an indicator means, such as a conventional cursor, pointer arrow, highlighted area, or the like. The viewer controls the position of the cursor within the interface by using the directional arrows on a properly configured remote controller or through other conventional means such as a keyboard or mouse. By doing so, a viewer can browse the EPG program schedule grid for desired programming. Additionally, a viewer can interact with and navigate through information associated with a cell of the program schedule grid or other specific area of the interface by highlighting that cell or area with the cursor and entering a proper command. This allows the viewer to perform a variety of features associated with that particular program cell or highlighted area. Examples of features that can be performed are programming a VCR to automatically record a program that is associated with the highlighted cell or view detailed information about that program. Such EPGs are known in the art and are described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,532,754, 5,353,121, 5,479,268, and 5,479,266.
The content and setup of an EPG interface is controlled by a head end provider. The head end provider transmits electronic program guide data to a receiving apparatus that is either connected to, or has built into it, a display module, such as a television screen or computer monitor. This data transmission can occur through satellite, cable, phone lines, or conventional broadcast towers. The receiving apparatus receives the data, processes it, and displays the resulting EPG interface on the display area of the display module. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,106, Chaney, describes a data packet structure necessary to implement an EPG system.
Since their initial introduction, EPGs are steadily becoming a standard feature of household television reception systems. As a result of their widespread use and ability to catch the attention of massive amounts of television viewers, those skilled in the art have come to appreciate that EPGs can serve as a valuable means of advertising space. Currently, EPGs are used to advertise/promote an almost endless range of products, including upcoming live events, programs of all kinds, and ordinary commercial products. While methods and apparatus of advertising/promoting programs using EPGs do exist, new and more effective ways of advertising a product/program are always in demand.
Currently, advertisements in EPG interfaces are for the most part simply billboards. These billboards are in a separate area or window of the EPG interface. As used herein, these separate advertising areas are referred to as information windows. While many of these billboard advertisements are static images, some of these advertisements are video clips that are associated with the product or program being promoted. Additionally, some of these existing billboard advertisements are interactive. For example, in an advertisement for an upcoming program, the viewer may be able to highlight the information window that is showing the video clip and set a timer to watch or record the program by entering the proper sequence of commands.
However, merely showing static images or video clips that are associated with a program are often not very interesting to a viewer. As such, viewers develop “banner blindness” because they learn to ignore the advertisement area of the EPG interface. In order to alleviate this phenomenon, there is a need for a more interesting method and apparatus of advertising programs in the EPG environment.
In addition to the above billboard advertising, current EPG interfaces may also have a video window that displays a currently airing program. However, the program displayed in the video window of existing EPGs corresponds to the program cell that is highlighted in the program schedule grid. For example, if a viewer accesses an EPG interface and moves the indicator/cursor within the program schedule grid so as to highlight a cell that corresponds to a program that is currently being aired on channel 2, that program (i.e. channel 2) will be displayed in the video window. In this sense, the viewer can use the EPG interface and program schedule grid as a means to preview currently aired programs. However, because the viewer controls which cell is highlighted, the viewer also controls the identity of the content being displayed in the video window. These types of EPG interfaces cannot serve as effective means of advertising because of the viewer control. Thus, a need still exists for methods that are more effective and apparatus for advertising programs in the EPG environment.